Destination California! Death Valley National Park
Another Year and More Adventures.
!Warning!
The first thing, I do not advise traveling to Death Valley in the dead of summer. On my trip, daytime temperatures reached a scorching 116 degrees fahrenheit.
The Summer Drive
From Los Angeles to Death Valley took a mere five hours traveling the long and desolate desert landscape with few mountains and Joshua trees to mark the way. It is on these occasions where satellite radio really becomes a necessity rather than a luxury. The ride is simple enough. Roads are mostly smooth and well maintained. Even entering the park, the entire trip can be conducted in a simple passenger car. Bordering the rim right before dropping into the park the sweltering heat is already present. Even as the sun is set the temperature never dropped below 100 degrees.
Personally I though arriving at night would allow me some relief from the blazing sun but I was wrong. During the day the sand absorbs all the heat and at night that heat is released from the ground right under your feet.
That seems nice until you try to sleep. As I set up my campsite for the night, a lot of the comfort items I brought with me became completely unnecessary. The floor was so hot that it actually burned when I tried to lay on the ground without my sleeping pad. It was impossible to get into the sleeping bag because of the amount of sweat that would accumulate. I even had to shed some layers of clothes to try to get some relief. Even the mesh net proved too obstructive blocking any potentiel breeze that could help cool me off.
Sleep proved impossible for more than a few hours. But it allowed for an early catch of the sunrise. The magnificent colors ring out in the just as the sun breaks over the ridge of the mountains and bleed into the desert floor.
The beautiful sunrise shines over the oxidized metals in the mountains which paint all the unique colors.
Every part of the park is accessible by well maintained roads which I shared with a fair amount of motorhomes and RVs. All the way to the lowest point at Bathwater Basin which is continuing to sink deeper into the Earth as the two mountains that make the valley spread further and further apart.
There are several hiking trails and natural wonders that you can walk to but as the temperatures are over 100 degrees, LOTS of water is recommended and do not set out after 10 am. There are many warning signs which advise against strenuous activity when the sun is at its highest.
I’ve always thought of the desert as this arid environment where nothing can live that’s covered in sand and cacti but coming to Death Valley I learned that not all deserts are like what we see in the movies. But they did not disappoint, there was the nice sandy area that seemed like snow covered hill but with scorching hot sand instead.
And if I’m not mistaken, this is where they filmed the famous Star Wars scene where the droids crash landed. But I could be completely wrong.
Overall it was an incredible trip but I did not last long. Due to the incredible heat I only lasted the one day. Although I thought I was taking in a lot of fluids I began to show signs of dehydration. The extremely dry air cause me to get a nose bleed and the heat made me lose my appetite so I had to force myself to eat which made me nauseous. Attempting to escape the hottest part of the day I departed before noon and headed back to Los Angeles.